Tshwane Executive Mayor Cllr Nasiphi Moya, along with key stakeholders, hosted a public meeting this past Tuesday (Nov 26) to provide an update on the progress towards the re-opening of the Rebecca Street Crematorium.
The crematorium, which is due to start fully functioning from December 2, has been closed for approximately 18 months. During this time, families have faced considerable financial strain and inconvenience, as they have been forced to travel to alternative facilities, mainly to Johannesburg. The crematorium has since undergone significant refurbishment and upgrades, aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. Tshwane Councillor, Prajay Ramjee, who, together with many other residents from Laudium, attended the public meeting, told the Laudium Sun, “Seeing grief-stricken families having to incur the costs of travelling to Brixton, Krugersdorp, or Lenasia to cremate their deceased was excruciating to me, so attending the re opening of the Rebecca Street Crematorium was such a relief. Being part of a group of concerned citizens involved in achieving this goal brings me great pride. The Crematorium Committee Group was started in July 2023 and my role was to give feedback to the committee. When I saw that we kept hitting one hurdle after the next, I approached our ActionSA caucus and then Mayor, Celliers Brink. Our caucus added the crematorium as a coalition priority in January in the adjustment budget and after a constructive meeting on March 1 with the then Deputy Executive Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, MMC of Utilities, MMC of Finance, Nava Pillay, Councillors and the crematorium committee, deadlines
were set with a goal to have the crematorium running by December 2, or sooner. The reopening ceremony was an interfaith prayer with the Executive Mayor, Crematorium Committee, officials and members of the public in attendance. Possibly, this is the only time a joyous event will be held at the crematorium.”
